Update: Mayor Kevin Johnson meets with AEG and NBA

Continuing with his theme of “transparency”, Mayor Kevin Johnson issued a statement on his meeting with AEG President Tim Leiweke and NBA Commissioner David Stern in New York today. According to our friend Rob McAllister of KFBK Radio, Mayor Johnson said in a statement the meetings were “productive.”

“I had a productive conversation today with Commissioner Stern and Tim Leiweke. We exchanged updates on a range of topics, including the positive momentum of last Tuesday’s council vote, the upcoming timeline for the city to determine the private sector’s interest in leasing Sacramento’s parking, and need to finalize the full set of public and private funding sources we’ll need to reach a deal that will create 4000+ jobs and transform our economy.”

While the City of Sacramento works feverishly to get their ducks in a row on the financing side, the Maloof brothers have gone on record with the Sacramento Bee, saying that they’re “flexible” on that March 1st deadline.

“The league has always been flexible … so I don’t know about that (a firm deadline). There are a lot of people working in a positive vein this time, where before, there was a lot of negativity. But everybody is on board. So we’re optimistic guys. We want to get it done here in Sacramento.”

- Joe Maloof

Momentum seems to building, with the city’s parking as a catalyst to the financing deal. According to McAllister’s report, AEG has yet to formalize an agreement with the City of Sacramento, but remain extremely involved with the project. Mayor Johnson still has some pretty high hurdles to climb over, but momentum seems to be on his side.

About: James Ham

James Ham is the senior editor of Cowbell Kingdom, providing extensive Kings coverage through news analysis, in-depth interviews with players and staff and daily coverage of breaking news since 2010. Along with providing original content for the site, including the Cowbell Kingdom Podcast and his weekly Sunday Musings column, James also contributes to ESPN.com and is one of the producers behind the award-winning, independent documentary film "Small Market, Big Heart".

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Founded in 2009, Cowbell Kingdom is a member of the ESPN TrueHoop Network. Its goal is to provide frontline, on-the-ground coverage of the Kings that leads to interesting and thought-provoking discussion amongst readers.